YouTube star MrBeast sued over ‘abuse’ & ‘sexual harassment’ of reality show contestants in new Amazon show Beast Games
YOUTUBE star MrBeast has been accused of abuse on the set of his upcoming game show Beast Games.
Five unnamed contestants have accused and his production company of , unfair conditions and "chronic mistreatment".
, 26, has also been accused of misrepresenting the contestants' chances of winning his new Amazon reality show.
It comes with a $5million grand prize, and was touted by Amazon as the "biggest live reality show in history" with over 1,000 contestants.
Amazon’s production company Prime Video and MrBeast's own firm, MrB2024 are named in the suit.
The court filing alleges that participants were not given minimum wages, overtime pay, uninterrupted meal breaks or rest time.
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A 50-page complaint accuses production on the show of not providing enough food or drink for contestants,
It describes the contestants as people whose "work on the show was the entertainment product" sold by MrBeast.
I expected to be challenged, but I didn’t think I would be treated like nothing - less than nothing.
And as one of the women, I can say it absolutely felt like a hostile environment for us
Female contestant
It also says medical help was not enlisted and production "forced them [contestants] not to sleep … to participate in games that unreasonably risked physical and mental injury."
Lawyers representing the five plaintiffs - all based in California - say Donaldson and Amazon promoted sexism and "laid the groundwork for collective sexual harassment".
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The attorneys said "several contestants" suffered "physical and mental complications" with some being taken to hospital.
A statement from them read: "While participants knew upon signing the contract at the production’s inception that they were facing a potentially long and challenging competition, they allege getting a lot more than they bargained for."
One unnamed female contestant said: "I expected to be challenged, but I didn’t think I would be treated like nothing — less than nothing.
"And as one of the women, I can say it absolutely felt like a hostile environment for us."
A release date for the show has not yet been released.
MrBeast, who had the most subscribers ever on the video-sharing platform, decided to turn his online success into a reality-competition series earlier this year.
In March, Donaldson and Amazon MGM Studios announced their plans for Beast Games, exclusively on Prime Video.
The show is set to air across 240 countries worldwide with MrBeast acting as the on-screen host.
Speaking at the launch of the hit programme, MrBeast previously said: "My goal is to make the greatest show possible and prove YouTubers and creators can succeed on other platforms.
"Amazon gave me the creative control I need to try and make it happen.
"I hope to make the YouTube community proud."
Jennifer Salke, the head of Amazon MGM Studios, added: "MrBeast has captured the attention and imagination of fans of all ages, from all walks of life and all over the world.
"We are excited to work with Jimmy and his talented team to bring his brilliant, high production and stakes-raising concepts to ‘Beast Games’ for our global customers to experience."
The young online creator is believed to have a net worth in excess of $100million after producing videos on YouTube since 2012.
His videos are known for elaborate challenges and lucrative giveaways and he has over 300million subscribers.
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Amazon declined to comment.
A spokesperson for MrBeast told the Associated Press in an email that he had no comment on the lawsuit.